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John Bouraphael, 33, of Danville has decided to waive a jury trial in his identity fraud case pending in Rockingham County Superior Court. (JAMES A. KIMBLE/FILE PHOTO)

Inmate will let judge decide fraud ID case

By JAMES A. KIMBLEUnion Leader Correspondent

BRENTWOOD — A jailed Danville man charged with impersonating a public defender while he called an inmate at another county jail has waived his right to a jury trial, and will let a judge decide his innocence or guilt.

John Bouraphael, 33, was scheduled to go on trial Monday on identity fraud charges for impersonating public defender Anthony Naro during a phone call to the Merrimack County jail on June 1.

Judge Kenneth McHugh approved a request to give Bouraphael another chance to argue that his charges should be dismissed.

The decision comes after county prosecutors filed a new set of identity fraud charges last month against Bouraphael in response to his lawyer contending that the indictments were based on faulty information.

A judge refused to dismiss the first set of charges, saying the information challenged by the defense was a factual issue that a jury could decide at trial.

Bouraphael’s girlfriend, Shayna Provencal, of Andover, Mass., is also facing charges for allegedly facilitating the three-way phone call from the Brentwood jail where Bouraphael was being held.

Bouraphael used Naro’s identification number to dupe Merrimack County corrections officers into believing that he was a lawyer asking to speak with his client, prosecutors said.

The other inmate used to team up with Bouraphael to strong-arm other inmates out of their canteen goods while they were both held at the Brentwood jail, according to prosecutors.

Rockingham County corrections Lieutenant David Consentino discovered the ruse days later while monitoring recordings of outgoing jail calls.

Provencal’s lawyer Patrick Fleming is also arguing that charges in his client’s case should be dismissed prior to trial.

Fleming said in a court motion that Bouraphael would have had to obtained “money, credit, goods, services or anything else of value” to have committed identity fraud.

McHugh has given Bouraphael’s lawyer, Steven White, approximately 10 days to file his new argument that his client committed no crime.

Bouraphael agreed that if he is convicted in the identity fraud case, he will be sentenced on the same day, according to a judge’s order.

Bouraphael and Provencal are facing Class A felonies, punishable by up to 7 ½ to 15 years in state prison.